Cleaning firm targets 100-job expansion drive

A Yorkshire cleaning and maintenance company is sweeping ahead with plans to create up to 100 jobs.

Leeds-based Clearchoice, which employs more than 200 people and serves over 1000 customers, is aiming to increase its workforce to at least 300 by 2027 as it expands into Manchester and the wider North West.

Founded by entrepreneur Paul Broadbent in 2011 as a domestic window cleaning operation, the company has grown into a commercial cleaning and maintenance specialist under his leadership alongside business partner Martyn Best.

Its services now range from routine office and school cleaning to specialist industrial cleaning, commercial gutter maintenance, builders' cleans and property maintenance.

Customers include Seabrook Crisps, Express Bi-Folding Doors, Morley Glass & Glazing, The Cut & Craft restaurant and Caddick Construction.

The planned recruitment follows what the founders describe as the company’s most successful year to date, with new contract wins and the expansion of its maintenance division driving growth during 2026.

Clearchoice has also invested in its management structure, internal teams and technology to support its next phase of development.

This includes systems designed to monitor cleaning hours, improve operational efficiency and provide customers with greater visibility of the services delivered.

Education is among the company's priority growth sectors, with plans to build on existing relationships with schools, academy trusts and local authorities.

Further opportunities have been identified in food manufacturing, where specialist cleaning and hygiene requirements are particularly important, alongside continued expansion of its commercial maintenance operations.

Geographically, Clearchoice is looking to strengthen its presence across South Yorkshire while establishing operations in Manchester, Oldham and surrounding areas.

The company’s expansion represents a significant development from its beginnings 15 years ago, when Paul worked long hours building a customer base through domestic window cleaning.

An early breakthrough came when he secured a contract to clean the windows of a newly constructed Leeds office building, later winning a larger contract to clean its exterior cladding.

Paul said: “When we started, I was out knocking on doors for 14 hours a day, trying to build the business one customer at a time.

“I remember getting one of our first big commercial jobs and cleaning the cladding on a building in November.

“It was so cold the water was freezing as it hit the building, but I was just buzzing to have the opportunity.

“I’d never built a business before, but Martyn brought that experience of growing businesses.

“We complemented each other, and it’s been a fantastic relationship ever since.”

Clearchoice continued diversifying its services during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the closure of schools and offices threatened existing contracts.

The company responded by securing additional work providing deep cleaning and high-touch-point cleaning services for premises that remained operational.

Martyn added: “Covid was a real test for us.

“We had schools and offices closing, which meant contracts we relied on were suddenly disappearing.

“We could have accepted the situation, but instead we looked at where the opportunities were and went out to find that work.

“That’s always been our approach – you can’t control everything that happens in the economy, but you can control how you respond to it.”

That diversification helped broaden its customer base and establish new areas of work, contributing to its subsequent expansion.

With recruitment planned across its three principal divisions, Clearchoice is now seeking to build on its established Yorkshire operations while developing a wider presence across Northern England.

However, the founders insist expansion will not come at the expense of service standards or long-standing customer relationships.

Martyn added: “One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that growth has to be managed properly.

“We’ve actually turned work down because we knew we didn’t have the people or infrastructure in place to deliver it to the standard we expect.

“There’s no point winning a big contract if you can’t look after the customer.

“We’ve spent 15 years building our reputation, and we’re not going to put that at risk just to grow more quickly.

“We’re ambitious about the future, but we’re determined to get there the right way.”

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